Driving mechanism for airships



P. G. ZIMMERMANN DRIVING MECHANISM FOR AIRSHIPS Originalfiled Sept. 15,1910 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY 1 Fig.2;

INVENTOR Pay] 6. Z rh me/070v:

Feb. 27, 1923.

Re. 15,550 P. G. ZIMMERMANN DRIVING MECHANISM FOR AIRSHIPS OriginalFiled Sept. 13

, 1910 2 sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR Pa (1/ 6. Zi/77/77/777d r711 ATTORNEYReissued Feb. 27, 1923.

a as 15,550

' UNITED srarssrA'reuT OF rAUL (3. maximum, or narrow, NEW JERSEY,assmu'oa 'ro nuns v. mn'rm, or ELYBIA, omo.

DRIVING MECHANISM FOR AIRSHIPSF I Original 110. 1,089,029, dated March3, 1914, Serial No. 581,813, filed September 13, 1910. Application forreissue filed December, 1921. Serial No. 622,431.

To all'whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, PAUL G. ZIMMERMANN,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Keyport, county of Monmouth,and State of New Jersey, have invented new and useful more particularlyto the driving mechanism thereof. a

The invention appertains especially to safet driving mechanism foraeroplanes, or heavier-than-air machines employing supporting planes.

An aeroplane necessarily subject to total disability of its drivingmechanism in event of a breakdown of-the motor, in which event theaviators sole chance of effecting a safe alighting is his skill andability in controlling the machine so as to accomplish a glidingdescent.

The object of my invention is to obviate the danger of total disabilityof the driving mechanism of the aeroplane by providing two or moredistinct motors and combining them with the propelling means in suchmanner that they jointly drive the same propelling means and thestoppage of either motor automatically disconnects this motor from thepropelling means while the remaining motor or motors remain connectedtherewith, the motor so disconnected being automatically connected againto the propelling means when the motor is started or speeds up. It is ofthe greatest importance that any of the motors on stopping shall beautomatically and immediately disconnected from the propelling means,otherwise this dead motor would be driven by the other motor or motorsthrough the propelling means, and since the compression employed inaeroplane motors is usually high. the dead-motor would act as a powerfulbrake tending to stop the remaining motors. Furthermore, the automaticdisconnecting and reconnecting of the driven by a single motor is pellerdrive common thereto, and for connecting either engine with the drive insuch.

manner that it may be started by the other engine already running.

With these ends in view the invention consists in the parts,improvements. and combinations'hereinafter described with referenceto-certain specific illustrative embodiments and more particularlypointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings showing these illustrative embodiments: Figure l is aplan view indicating the preferred arrangement of two propellers andtwomotors in an aeroplane 1n accordance with my invention, the uppersupporting plane being omitted;

Figure 2 is a similar view showing two motors and one propeller;

Figure 3 is a plan View of the motors of Figure 1 and the drivingconnections;

Figure-4- is a rear view corresponding to Figure 1; 2

Figures 5 and 6 are face views of the driving and driven members ordisks; and Figure 7 is a side view, broken away, of the driving anddriven members, showing the arrangement of the driving and cranking dogsand ratchets in the preferred construction.

Inasmuch as this invention relates to the driving mechanism ofaeroplanes and is not concerned with the various problems of support andguiding, no attempt is made in the accompanying drawings to illustratein detail the structural features of an operative aeroplane, such as thesupporting of the planes, the bracing and the like. It will be obviousthat the supporting, guiding, elevating and stabilizing planes andvarious features of bracing and supporting may be constructed inaccordance with any accepted or preferred practice.

The aeroplane indicated in the accompanying drawings is of the biplanetype, but the invention may be embodied in aeroplanes orheavier-than-air machines of any type.

Thereference numerals 2, 2, indicate supporting planes, 3 a forwardelevating plane, and 4 a rear plane.

In accordance with this invention the propelling means may consist ofone propeller, as shown-in Figure 2, or oftwo propellers, as shown inFigures 1 and 4, or of a greater number of propellers, in any of whichcases between the sup orting planes and adjacent the rear edges t ereof,ut. the motors may be otherwise located if desired. The two propellers11, 11, are of any suitable form for aerial propulsion and may bevariously located, but are preferably disposed, as shown, at somedistance at opposite sides of the pair of motors and inrear and adjacentthe rear edges of the supporting planes. The shafts 12, 12, of thesepropellers may be supported and journaled in any suitable manner fromthe supporting structure of the planes. In accordance with the inventiona driving connections are provided between between the driving membersthe motors and the propellers so that the propellers are driven jointlyby and means are provided for automatically disconnecting andreconnecting the motors individually. The said means may be widelyvaried. In the particular construction illustrated, automaticallyuncoupling and recoupling one-way driving connections are provided forthe several motors. In the construction illustrated each of theseconnections comprises a driving member, or disk 13 and a driven memberor disk 14:. The

- driving member 13 is shown as provided on one face with a'suitablenumber of dogs 15, and the opposed face of thedriven member is shown asprovided with a co-operating ratchet 16. The dogs are held constantly inengagement with the ratchet by suitable means, such as sprin 30. Eachdriving member 13 is connec to the corresponding motor, and the drivenmembers 14 are connected to the propellers. In the best construction ofthis form of the invention, the driving and driven members 13 and 14 aremounted on the crank shafts .17 of the mo tors, the driving member beingfixed on the shaft and the driven member being loose thereon. Thrustbearings 18 are provided and the engine frames or any other suitablesupport, and other thrust bearings 19 are formed between the drivin anddriven members. The driving mem rs may be held on the shafts by anysuitable collars or the like 20. While the driven members might beconnected directly to the propellers, in accord-; ance with thisparticular construction illusractice hey are preferably 10- the motors,

trated, a driving element is interposed between the driven members 14and the proellers, and in accordance with this preerred form of theinvention this driving element is common to both propellers, so thatbreakage ofthis element will cause both the propellers to stop and notone only. Where two propellers are employed an there is a possibility ofone stopping and the other continuing to revolve a serious accident mayoccur. This drivingelement is illustrated as a sprocket chain 21, whichpasses over sprocket wheels 22-formed on or rigid with the drivenmembers 14 and sprocket wheels 23 fixed on the propeller shafts. Thus,this chain constitutes a connection between the propellers so that theymust revolve together if at all, a connection between the driven membersand thepropellers, and a connection between the-driven members. It willbe obviousthat a belt drive may be substituted for the chain drive. Thischain may be crossed'in the manner shown, so as to secure properpurchase upon the sprockets and to cause the propellers to revolveinopposite directions. Inorder to prevent difiiculty from theinterference of the crossing 'strandsofthe chain, the said strands orcourses may travel in individual tubes, not shown, in accordance withthe accepted ractice for crossed sprocket chains in air-s ip drives. Imay and preferably do .provide means for manually disengaging the dogs15 from the ratchets16.' The particular embodiment of such meansillustrated upon the drawings consists of a floating ring 33, for eachset of dogs 15, which'ring actuated by a hand lever 35 or the like andpushes a set of pins 34 received in apertures in the disk 13 contactwith the dogs and move them out of en agement with the ratchet.

n the form of the invention shown in Figure 2, the ropelling meansconsists of a single prope ler 11 located with its axis in'the verticalplane of the longitudinal center line of the machine. The constructionis substantially similar to that already described, except that thedriven members 14 are shown as connected with the propeller shaft byseparate'sprocket chains 24, 24.

A feature of the invention which I prefer to employ in both forms ofconstruction illustrated consists in manual means for coupling thedriven members 14 with their driving members 13, so as to enable themotors to be cranked by turning the driven members. by manual operationof the propeller and also to. enable one motor to be cranked by theother. The said means. may be widely varied. Any suitable kind of clutchconnection may be employed. In the particular construction illustratedthe driving member 13 is provided with a ratchet 25, the faces of. whichare reversed to those of the ratchet 16, and the driven member isprovided with a suitable number of dogs 26. These dogs and is adapted tobear against the rear ends of pins or plungers 31 workin in apertures inthe driven me her and a apted to contact at their forward ends with thedogs. Suitable levers 32 or other devices are 'provided for pressing therings against the pins vand causing the latter to force the dogs 26 thecranking ratchets.

In operation, the propeller or propellers are driven b the motorsjointly through the pawl an ratchet drive connections, or any othersuitable one-way, automatically disengaging and re-engaging drivingconnections. In event of one of the motors stopping, the corres endingdriven member is free to rotate in ependently of its driving membersince the ratchet 16 merely clicks over the dogs. This clickin may bestopped by throwing the correspon ing lever 35 so as to disengage thedogs 15 from the ratchet. Relative rotation between the drivenand-driving member will also occur for very brief intervals in case theother motor speeds up or the speed of the first motor drops off. In suchevent, the driving member again drives its driven member as soon as thecorresponding motor has caught up. The driving members automaticallyconnect with their driven members to drive the latter, whenever themotors are started. To crank, one set of dogs 26 may be engaged withtheir ratchet 25 by operating the corresponding lever 32, after whichthe corresponding motor may be turned over by manually rotating thepropeller. Now by engaging the other set of dogs 26 with their ratchetby throwing the other lever 32, the other engine may be cranked by thefirst. One engine may be cranked by the other at any time. Either orboth engines may be disconnected manually from the propellers by meansof the levers 35. It will, of course, be obvious that the drivingratchet might into engagement with I be located on the driving memberand the drivino dogs on the driven member, and that a simi ar reversalof the cranking dogs and ratchet might be efi'ected. The two ratchets,as well as the dogs, are preferably of hardbe formed of separate piecesfrom their disks 13 and 14, being let into or secured to these disks inany suitable manner. The driving members 13 may 5 and preferably doconstitute fiy-wheels/ While I have shown two specific illustraing each.engine from tive embodiments of my invention, it will be understoodthat many other embodiments are ossible, and that numerous chan es indetails, arrangements, form, sizes an portions may be made withoutdeparting from the invention.

It will be obvious that spur gear, gear, or any other suitable orwell-known drive may be utilized in connection with theinvention.

Having thus claim:

1. Drivin prising a p described my invention, I

mechanism for air-ships,'comurahty of similar motors, propelling meansconnected with the motors so as to be driven thereby jointly, one-wayconnections between the motors and the propelling means whereby thelatter may be driven by one of the motors in event of stoppin of theremainder, and manually-operate means for connecting1 the propellingmeans a with the motors so t at the motors may be cranked by turning thepropellers.

2. Driving mechanism for air-ships, cOmprising the combination of 'aplurality of similar motors, a driving and a driven member pertainingone-way drivin connections between said members, prope ing means, meansconnecting'said propelling means with the driven members and connectinthe driven members with each other, ant? manually operated means forconnecting either driven member with its driving member so that thecorresponding motor may be cranked by the other.

3. In an aeroplane propeller drive, the combination with the propellerblades,of two engines, a single endless driving connection between saidpropeller blades and en ines arranged to be driven by either one or 0thof the engines simultaneously, means to disconnect each engine from thesaid propeller blades and manual means for connecting each engine withthe said propeller blades so that each engine can be started by turning-the said propeller blades.

4. In an aeroplane propeller drive, the combination with the propellerblades, of two engines, a single endless driving connection between theengines and the propeller blades, means to disconnect each engine fromthe said driving connection and from the said propeller blades, andmeans for startthe motion of the other.

5. Driving mechanism for airships comprising the combination of aplurality of similar motors, a plurality of propeller blades, aplurality of driven members including a single endless drivin connectionintermediate each motor and t e said propeller blades, between eachconnection, ing to prevent manual engaging mechanism the said drivingconnection actthe separate and uneven proto each motor and automaticmotor and the said driving bevel l vthe motion of another.,

driving of the said ropeller blades, and meansfor starting eac of themotors from 6.*In an aeroplane propeller drive, the combination with thepropeller blades, of two similar engines, driving connections betweenthe engines and propeller blades, which connections are at all timesadapted to be driven by either one or both of the engines, the enginesbeing individually jdisconnectible, and means for 'startingeac "enginefrom the 'motion of the other.

7. In an aeroplane propeller drive, the combination with the propellermeans of two engines, driv ing connections constituting a common drivebetween the engines and propeller means which connections are at altimes ada ted to'be driven by-either one or both of t e engines, meansfor conmeeting and disconnectin each of the englnes in respect todriving the propeller means, and manually operated means for the engineswith said connecting either of So that said engine driving connectionsme. be started by the motion of the other.

igned at Keyport, in the county of Monmouth and State of New Jersey,this 12th day of December,- 1921 PAUL G. ZIMMERMANN.

